1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a combination patient transporter, chair, and commode which specifically facilitates the transfer of a patient to and from a bed and supports the personal needs and routine bedside activities of the patient.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Most patient care is administered bedside and, although medical technology is highly evolved, the routine, practical, logistical imperatives confronted by nurses and other care givers have been largely ignored.
For respiratory patients it is important for them to assume a characteristic sitting position which makes breathing easier, that is, leaning forward with elbows partially supporting the weight of the upper body, without obliging hospital staff to transfer them to an independent chair. Sitting semi-upright in a hospital bed with one's legs outstretched is not an optimal position for respiratory function in patients who are already short of breath, nor is it optimal for bowel movements.
It was our aim to provide bed hardware to allow a patient to sit up on the side of his bed, providing back support, optional lateral support and a table surface for a meal tray, reading materials or personal items. The variations in hospital bed design dictated that the hardware be independent of the bed frame.
Although many devices have been invented to facilitate patient transfer from a bed to a bath, bedside chair or wheelchair, few have been so commercially attractive as to be widely implemented, with the exception of the traditional patient lift, characterized by a single vertical post and a sling on a cantilevered arm. However, U.S. Pat. No. 4,719,655, Dean, issued Jan. 19, 1988, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,112,076, Wilson, issued May 12, 1992, show wheelchairs which are cantilevered and have lift capabilities to transfer a patient from a bed or chair to another. However, both the transporters shown in these patents have side posts which make it difficult to move laterally onto a bed or chair. Although the Dean patent has a removable rear section and a sling, it can only be used as a temporary transfer device.
As a result, hospital staff have been obliged to assume undue risk of personal injury by improvising in most instances and lifting and transferring patients without the benefit of any kind of appliance. The result has been a high incidence of back injuries with their implicit social costs.
Interest in the prevention of occupational injuries has increased in recent years in proportion to the increase in the allied costs.